企业高管如何避免跌入“自大陷阱”

    你大概还记得《皇帝的新装》这篇寓言吧，它说的是一个喜欢穿锦衣华服的皇帝，有一天被来访的几个裁缝愚弄了。裁缝们说他们有一种有魔力的衣料，只有聪明的人才能看得见它。皇帝只要穿着这种衣料做成的衣服，就能分辨出谁是聪明人、谁是傻瓜。于是皇帝也假装他能看见这种并不存在的布料。

    皇帝的臣民之中，没有一个人告诉他真相。有一天皇帝大摆仪仗，穿着“新衣”在城中巡游，人们纷纷告诉皇帝他看起来有多威风。这时一个小孩喊道：“但是他什么也没穿！”但皇帝还是深信裁缝的谎话，一丝不挂得意洋洋地继续前进。

    你是否也遇到过自认无所不能的领导？随着人的职业成就上去了，自我意识也就跟着膨胀起来。我们每年大约会与100个管理团队会面，我们经常发现，如何控制人的自负心理真是一门大学问。

    去年我们见到了一家全球最大的软件公司之一的CEO。比起讨论公司的未来，他似乎更有兴趣聊他自传的销售情况。比尔•盖茨曾说过一句名言：“成功是一个糟糕的老师，他诱使成功的人们觉得自己不会失败。”没人能保证自己没有被冲昏头脑的时候，要想脚踏实地需要很大的决心。尤其是有些时候，你可能感觉整个世界都在告诉你，你有多厉害。坦率地说，我们三个人也都有被自负冲昏头脑的时候。我们要感谢那些生活中不让我们狂妄自大的人。随着时间的推移，我们才慢慢学会“满招损、谦受益”的道理。

    自负心态会对企业业务造成重大影响。2013年一项对标准普尔指数的500家大企业CEO的调查显示，过于自负的CEO们的表现往往逊色于其他的CEO，而且更容易背上骗子的名声。

    我们生活在一个鼓励极端自恋的环境里。媒体的热炒更刺激了人们把关注投向帕丽斯•希尔顿这样的“话题女王”。随着科技的发展，我们每次拿起手机查看上一条微博有多少人回复时，心里都有一种膨胀的快感。

    宾西法尼亚州立大学（Pennsylvania State University）的阿里吉特•查特吉和唐纳德•汉姆布里克指出：“企业领导层人员的自恋心态可能导致重大后果，比如可能导致制订不切实际的战略规划，以及使高管团队变得唯唯诺诺……CEO们的自恋甚至可能对他们的企业、利益相关方甚至整个社会体系都造成重大影响。”

    专家们强调，自信与过分自恋之间是有区别的。比如《自恋传染病》（The Narcissism Epidemic）一书的作者、心理学家珍•特温格就在“自我效能感”（也就是相信“我的行动会带来一定的影响”）和“自恋”（即对自我的认知超过了实际情况的“自我膨胀感”）之间划了一条界线。

    她解释道，自恋者由于缺乏对别人的关怀，容易导致疏远别人，最终将自己吸收大部分风险。如果你想了解自己的自恋程度，可以做一做这个“自恋测试”。

    根据我们的经验，有些高管之所以能脚踏实地，是因为他们在用人上倾向于使用那些不会容忍他们狂妄自大的人。吐温格提醒我们说：“人际关系是让我们保持自省的关键。”

    最近，一位我们认识的高调的企业高管落马后，阿尔对戴夫和克里斯托弗说：“你们知道他的问题是什么吗？他没有哥们儿。”真正的伙伴在CEO做狂妄自大的决策时不会坐视不理，而这位高管就没有这样的伙伴。对自恋心态研究得越深，你就会越明白：作为企业的管理者，你要管理的最重要的东西，就是你的自我意识。（财富中文网）

    本文作者克里斯托弗•洛克海德、戴夫•彼得森、阿尔•拉玛丹是Play Bigger Advisor咨询公司的创始合伙人。该公司总部位于旧金山，主要辅导科技企业高管打造市场型企业。

    译者：朴成奎

    You may remember The Emperor's New Clothes, a fable about a ruler who is fond of snazzy outfits. One day the emperor gets bamboozled by visiting tailors. They sell him the idea that they have magical fabrics that are only visible to the smart. Thus by wearing clothing made from these textiles, he will learn who is wise and who is a fool. The emperor pretends that he can see the non-existent fabric.

    Not one of the emperor's people tells him the truth. One day the mighty leader is walking through town in a large procession. People telling him how great he looks. A child cries out, "But he hasn't got anything on!" The emperor continues forward. Naked and delusional.

    How often do you encounter an executive who thinks they are omnipotent? Egos and careers can ascend in tandem. We meet approximately 100 management teams a year. Often we find ourselves in a discussion about how to stick-handle around someone's ego.

    Last year we met the CEO of one of the largest software companies in the world. He was more interested in talking about the marketing of his autobiography than the future of his company. Bill Gates famously said, "Success is a lousy teacher. It seduces smart people into thinking they can't lose." No one is immune to getting a fat head. It actually takes a commitment to stay grounded. Especially when it feels like the whole world is telling you how awesome you are. To be candid, the three of us have had our egos get the better of us too. We are grateful to the people in our lives that do not allow for hubris. Over time we've learned that a lot of humility goes a little way.

    Narcissism has a material impact on business. A 2013 study of CEOs across the 500 companies listed on Standard and Poor's Index, found that narcissistic CEOs often underperform their peers and are more likely to be convicted of fraud.

    We live in a culture that celebrates supreme narcissism. Our media heaps attention on "look at me" celebrities like Paris Hilton. Technology strokes our inner Kardashian every time we check our smartphones to see how many people "liked" our last post.

    Arijit Chatterjee and Donald Hambrick of Pennsylvania State University caution, "Narcissism in the corporate executive suite can be expected to lead to substantial consequences .including strategic grandiosity and submissive top management ... CEO narcissism may matter greatly to individual organizations, their stakeholders, and to entire social systems."

    Experts underscore the differences between confidence and reckless hubris. In an interview, Jean Twenge, psychologist and co-author of The Narcissism Epidemic, draws the distinction between "self efficacy," which is the belief that "my actions will have an impact" vs. narcissism, which is an "inflated sense of self" that leads to thinking that you are better than you actually are.

    She explains that narcissists are self-absorbed risk takers who can alienate people due to a lack of caring for others. If you want to see how you rate, take the narcissism test here.

    In our experience, executives stay grounded by surrounding themselves with people who won't tolerate self-importance. Twenge reminds us, "relationships are the key to keeping our egos in check."

    Recently when a high-profile executive we know crashed and burned, Al turned to Dave and Christopher and said, "You know what his problem is? He doesn't have brothers." Meaning, that true partners wouldn't sit idle and let CEOs make delusional decisions. The more that is learned about narcissism the clearer it gets -- the most critical thing for executives to manage is their own egos.

    Christopher Lochhead, Dave Peterson, and Al Ramadan are co-founding partners at Play Bigger Advisors, a San Francisco-based firm that coaches technology executives to build market-leading companies.